Stormsail

Just got back from a week in the French Alps in Les Arcs which was excellent and probably my last boarding trip for a while as Pheebs and I are on an extended honeymoon next year. Kudos to Jenny for her excellent organization skills again and choosing a good chatlet. Highlights for me this year was the powder and there was a lot of it as we only had 2 sunny days all week. Whilst boarding in flat light is still fun it makes it a little more tricky in noticing the lumps and bumps of the slope. Next time I go I think I’d like to get a head cam to film the interesting reds and blacks that are about and to show folks who’ve not got there yet what they’re missing! Until next time……

Happy new year to all and it’s that time again for more snow fun except this time it’s bigger and better (sounds like a film sequel doesn’t it). Yes another large snow dump as coated Basingstoke in the white stuff again just as we were recovering from the last bout before Christmas. I think I need to spend some quality time fixing my car as it’s not liking the cold too much. It turns over well enough but won’t fire. I suspect the glow plugs are all broken now and that will be my first port of call when I get a chance. Didn’t really have time over the Christmas break due to working and being ill . Still hopefully I’ll take a day off next week and get it sorted. I’m looking forward to what this year brings in many respect with Pheebs and I getting married, massive changes at work and hopefully a decent honeymoon to look forward to.

A little bit of snow and the country grinds to a halt… It was a shame I had to be in the office for the late shift otherwise I would have worked from home and missed all the fun but hey it wasn’t to be. It had been snowing all afternoon as predicted by the weathermen and some folks had been lucky enough to be let off home early and hence avoid the majority of traffic delays. For the ones that didn’t seemed to get caught in the madness. One poor sod had to drive back to the office due to no traction once they got off the motorway, hills seem to have that effect with cars and snow. It took Craig 4 odd hours to drive back to Alton, which didn’t give me hope for me once I finished work at 9pm for returning to Basingstoke. To make matters worse the Basingstoke junction was closed which meant the A30. So the time came and I set off up the minley road very very slowly. This driving (car in snow mode) continued pretty much all the way to Basingstoke and hence why it took me 2 1/2 hours to get home. It was tiring due to having to concentrate on the car in front making sure I had enough stopping distance in case I skidded. which actually happened quite a few times. In a sadistic sort of way I actually enjoyed the time driving back as it made driving a little more challenging. What was particularly eery was coming off the A30 into Basingstoke and noticing the vast number of abandoned cars sitting on verges, roundabouts and anywhere essentially off the main carriageway. I’ve certainly not seen it this bad in my life time. Strangely enough countries that do have a lot of snow do seem to cope unlike us. I mean you only have to get a couple of leaves on line for the trains to stop. Getting up the hill to my road was really fun as I kept loosing traction on the back wheels (rear wheel drive car) but lucky enough I managed to make it and get home… phew.

Snow is fantastic in that it transforms any drab place into a place of beauty as you can see from the picture of my road above. Right….it’s time for bed.

So after actually building the shed door using tongue & groove floor board with cross batons on the back and then painting a couple of times it was ready to be finally hung on the shed. Using some hinges I managed to fit it on but only to find that it didn’t quite fit as expected due to me adding additional width to the door frame. However that wasn’t too much hassle to use Dad’s jigsaw and plane to remove the excess which then allowed the door to work. Once on, I then fitted a lock and then moved onto fitting a couple of shelves to make use of the upper space in the shed.

It’s amazing what you can do with space if you have a little think. We’re going to have to make all the use of the space in the entire house once Pheeb’s moves in. Right, onto the next job….

Pheebs and I paid a visit to the Stoop in Twickenham to watch the Harlequins versus Gloucester match which was very entertaining as there were 7 tries rather than a ping-pong kicking game. Glad we didn’t pay to see any of the England matches this Autumn (although I’d like to go next year!). It was also nice to see the Quins beat Gloucester 35-29 as last time I came they lost to Saracens! It was shame Ed couldn’t make it due but it was good to catch up with Ryan and Liz who I’ve not seen for a long time.